arose singly, on the breathing silence of
that wilderness. As if she gathered courage with her theme, her powers appeared
to increase as she proceeded, and, though nothing vulgar or noisy mingled in her
melody, its strength and melancholy tenderness grew on the ear, until the air
was filled with this simple homage of a soul that seemed almost spotless. That
the men forward were not indifferent to this touching interruption was proved by
their inaction, nor did their oars again dip until the last of the sweet sounds
had actually died among the remarkable echoes, which, at that witching hour
would waft, even the lowest modulations of the human voice, more than a mile.
Hutter was much affected, for, rude as he was by early habits, and even ruthless
as he had got to be by long exposure to the practices of the wilderness, his
nature was of that fearful mixture of good and evil, that so generally enters
into the moral composition of man.
    »You are sad to-night, child,« said the father, whose manner and language
usually assumed some of the gentleness and elevation of the civilized life he
had led in youth, when he thus communed with this particular child. »We have
just escaped from enemies, and ought rather to rejoice.«
    »You can never do it, father!« said Hetty, in a low remonstrating manner,
taking his hard knotty hand into both her own - »You have talked long with Harry
March, but neither of you have the heart to do it!«
    »This is going beyond your means, foolish child; you must have been naughty
enough to have listened, or you could know nothing of our talk.«
    »Why should you and Hurry kill people - especially women and children?«
    »Peace, girl, peace. We are at war, and must do to our enemies as our
enemies would do to us.«
    »That's not it, father! - I heard Deerslayer say how it was. You must do to
your enemies, as you wish your enemies would do to you. No one wishes his
enemies to kill him.«
    »We kill our enemies in war, girl, lest they should kill us. One side or the
other must begin, and them that begin first are most apt to get the victory. You
know nothing about these things, poor Hetty, and had best say nothing.«
    »Judith says it is wrong, father; and Judith has sense, though I have none.«
    »Jude understands better than to talk to me of these